Appearance
Length ranges from 9.5 cm to 1 m. Plumage is small and rather sparse. Most parrots are very brightly colored, with the dominant color usually being a bright grass-green. The brightly colored fields are sharply demarcated from one another, and their colors often complement each other (green and purple, bluish-violet and light yellow, etc.). Young parrots are usually uniformly colored.

The most characteristic feature of the order is the beak. The height of the beak at the base is more than twice its width, and sometimes exceeds its length. The strongly curved upper mandible, articulated with the skull, has a sharp spine and a short cere at the base, similar to the cere of birds of prey. The lateral edges of the upper mandible usually have blunt, strong, tooth-like projections on both sides, corresponding to two deep notches on the edges of the lower mandible. The lower mandible is short and broad. Parrots can use their beaks to peck at very hard fruits, and when climbing, they cling to branches with their beaks. The legs are fairly short, thick, and feathered down to the heels. The first and fourth toes are turned backward, allowing parrots to not only grip branches well with their feet but also to bring food to their beaks with their feet. The claws are strongly curved but rather weak. The very short metatarsus is covered with plates arranged in a mesh-like pattern. The wings are large and pointed; there are usually 20 flight feathers with strong shafts and wide vanes; the tail is twelve-finned. Flight is fast, but usually short.

The skull of parrots is distinguished by its width; the lower jaw bones are very high and long, often extending behind the back of the head. The brain is relatively large; Characterized by a good memory and the ability to imitate sounds (well-developed vocal muscles). The tongue is short, thick, and fleshy, sometimes equipped with numerous filiform papillae at the tip. The coccygeal gland is sometimes absent. The vertebrae are opisthocoelous. The sternum is high. The furcula is poorly developed, often completely absent. The clavicle is short. The stomach is double (glandular and true). There is no gallbladder or caecum. The pancreas is double.